5 Great Books to Improve Your UX Skills

When I started my career as a financial analyst, I would have never imagined I'd end up working on user experiences for a living. Going from the world of spreadsheets and financial models to user empathy and design hasn't always been easy, but here are some of my favorite books that have helped make the transition a bit smoother.

This was one of the first books that I ever read about UX. I remember sitting on an airplane and flying through the pages as little lightbulbs kept popping over my head with epiphany after epiphany. In this fantastic read, Dr. Susan Weinschenk takes you on a whirlwind tour of how to apply the latest research on motivation, decision-making, and neuroscience to the design of your websites. It certainly got me hooked on the the science behind our interfaces, and my designs have been better served because of it.

Not only will this book give you some incredible insight into what it takes to make it as a designer today, it will also keep you laughing as Mike Monteiro’s wicked sense of humor permeates the pages. This book gave me an invaluable look into the part of design that no one talks about: getting work, and getting it done.

If you haven’t read this book, stop what you’re doing, click on the link above, and buy it. This is hands-down, far-and-away, , the best book on UX and web design out there. Nothing else I have ever read has had such a dramatic, and instantaneous effect on the way I design, and it can help take your designs to the next level too.

The second book from A Book Apart to make this list, Designing for Emotion by Aarron Walter makes heavy use of case studies and real-world examples to show you how to make a human connection with your design.

In a world where personalization matters more and more, nothing will help you personalize your designs faster than Seductive Interaction Design. Using language we can all relate to, this book will take you on a focused journey on how to take your designs from zero-to-hero in no time.

Last Edited 1 year ago

Nick Basile

Lead UI/UX Engineer

Nick is the Lead UI/UX Engineer at Metric Loop. He lives in Austin, TX and spends his free time taking long strolls on South Lamar. If you see him, be sure to honk.